(TheRedWire.com) – In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday New York City Mayor Eric Adams backed the New York Police Department for their actions to crackdown on the demonstrations in City College of New York and Columbia University, arguing that the protests had escalated after the demonstrators had taken over and vandalized university property.
Adams argued that while they wanted to protect the right to protest and democracy, they also had an obligation to take action when those protests led to violence. He argued that they needed to ensure that the minimum possible amount of force is used in order to terminate what is viewed as a threat not only by university officials but also by the state’s intelligence.
The mayor pointed out that the universities should proceed with their graduation ceremonies and that they should not cave to the demands of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were looking to cause disruptions to the events. He argued that they would be doing their job and if the institutions decide to proceed with their graduation ceremonies, they would ensure that this would be done in a “peaceful manner.”
Adams claimed that the arrests and police raid had come after Columbia’s administrators and the NYPD had been communicating for days. He added that the information that the NYPD intelligence division had gathered about the protesters had been “concerning” and that they should not view the attempt to “radicalize our young people” lightly. He continued by pointing out that they would not be overstepping their legal authority and that they needed to receive permission to take action unless there was an imminent threat to property or life.
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